Called to Serve: Chile Rancagua : Week 41: Rengo has My Heart

Miracles are real, because I found a Peanut Butter chocolate Russell Stover bunny! Seriously, miracles. It was the only one too, and how it ended up in my hands, still not sure. Easter 2018

What a week, what a week. This week was insane, and I couldn't tell you half of it even if I had the time.

To start, we received our cambios this last Saturday night and I am leaving Rengo. I am so incredibly grateful for the time I have had here and the people. These people truly have my heart. I never thought it would be so hard to leave an area. I am heading to a city called San Fernando, in the sector of Guadalupe, with an Hermana Dumes from Ecuador. To this point in my mission, I have only served in giant wards, and now I will have the opportunity to serve in a branch. I am excited to see what more the Lord has in store! And I know its not really a goodbye for the people of Rengo, just a nos vemos.

So here is a miracle that happened this week...we were heading home one night via collective (a type of taxi here in Chile) and we got out and started to walk the rest of the way home. We soon discovered we did not have our phone. We quickly went to a members home to call our number, as we knew it had to be in the collectivo. We called several times, but no answer. We decided to wait until morning to call again. The member helped us confirm our lunch the next day (which was another tender mercy because the hermana couldn't do lunch with us and the members we were with very kindly offered to have us over for lunch instead). The next morning, we we called again and scheduled a time that evening to possibly recover the phone. We went there and discovered the address, the number of the house she gave us didn't exist. We started looking for any and all people on that street with collectivos, asking neighbors if they knew a neighbor who drove a collectivo. We found one house and a girl about my age came out to talk to us, but the door closed behind her, locking her out of her house. She then had to scale the roof from a brick wall and enter a second story window to get back it. She let us in and we talked and explained the situation. Her parents had stepped out for the evening and she had just lost her own cell phone, so we got their information and all and will be going to visit them later too. Turns out they are really good family friends with a family in the ward here in Rengo, that have a son on the mission too! Tender mercies. They were great, but turns out they're not the collectivo drive we were looking for. We called our phone number again when we were with the elders and the lady apologized that she has messed up the house number. We passed the next morning, now we have our phone, and an appointment to visit her and her family as well. Lots of miracles and tender mercies...all for leaving our phone in the collectivo.

We also had a bomb birthday party for Relief Society this week (this ward really is the best), we had a fantastic Easter Noche de Hogar (FHE) with the ward and our investigators, and we got to witness a very beautiful baptism. So many wonderful things this week and the perfect way to end my time here.

Thought of the week:

General conference was amazing. I hope you all had the opportunity to watch or listent to it. And if not, check out lds.org to watch or listen to the sessions! I was blessed to be able to listen to the first 3 sessions in English, thanks to a very kind hermano and his tablet with headphones! And I had the opportunity to listen to the last one in Spanish. Beautiful how the spirit speaks, no matter which language it is.

The theme that really stuck out to me this conference and touched my heart, was that we all have the responsibility to be ministers. I don't remember who (I'm so excited to go back and read the talks to sort out my spanglish notes and all) but I loved when they said to minister is to love as the Savior loved. True ministry changes lives for the ministering and the ministered. To me the word minister has always sounded a little silly, but I love it now. Massimo de Feo shared about love and what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. I loved his talk so much, and encourage all of you to go and read it, for the first time or to review! Pure love is the sign of a true disciple. We need to love everyone. We need to serve and forgive and lift up the hands that can't lift themselves. We need to be more like Him. And how He loves us. Miracles really are possible when we love others as He has loved us. Miracles happen when we work together in love and unity. Love really is everything.

I also loved, loved, loved this: Things that don't change will stay the same.

Simple and so true.

I would love to hear about your thoughts with general conference or your favorite talk!

Have a great week everyone!! Lots of love to you all, all the way from Chile!!

Con amor,

Hermana Eibert